$1500 and I'm Trying to Buy a Laptop...

[fraya713]

OK, so i have about 1500 dollars. I wanna buy a laptop..

portability isn't really and issue because i just need it as a computer away from home kinda thing.

I am in a Game Art and Design program at an Art Institute so power is a must and so is graphics. If any of you computer heads can help me out on this lemme know what you think i should do.

I know there area few custom laptop sites out there, but i need the most bang for my buck.

Thanks for the help guys, appreciate it!

[JrRacinFan]

I would prefer to see you go Dell or HP. For laptops they are great!

[asb2106]

You can get a much better computer with a desktop but my buddy just bought an alienware laptop and its really nice, he payed 1299 for it. I didnt get to look into specs, but he said it scored a 5.7 in the vista benches and the only thing that wasnt a 5.9 was the harddrive.

[Cold Storm]

how about this I buy power??? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227034) it looks like a pretty good one. IMO

[asb2106]

how about this I buy power??? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227034) it looks like a pretty good one. IMO

I give it a thumbs up

[Mandown]

well i would go with an HP laptop, I have the dv9428, for only $1000 only thing that it really needs is a better gpu. It's on vista home 32-bit and is pretty darn fast, and it looks cool.:D

If i can remember well enough, there is a HP laptop for around $1300 that can do gaming, with a step down in the cpu from mine. I would look around best buy and and office depot for in-store discounts.

[fraya713]

yea i got a desktop, but its here in san diego, and when i go home (to indianapolis) i can't really take the computer with me so thats why i'm looking into a lap top

this is the best deal i have found so far.. its from www.Ibuypower.com

Case ( Battalion 101 LX775 17" WSXGA+ 1680X1050 Widescreen LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-ion 6 cells battery, Universal AC Power Adapter Original Metallic Black Color )
Processor ( [New !!!] Intel® Core 2 Duo Mobile T7700 Dual-Core Processor (2x 2.4GHz/4MB Cache/800FSB) )
Free Software/Game ( Free Game - [Lost Planet: Extreme Condition] must purchase with Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile Processor based system )
Free Software/Game ( [Free] iBUYPOWER T-Shirt with Archlord Game Graphic on Back --- $19.99 value )
Memory ( 2048MB(1024MB X2) DDR2-667 PC5300 [Notebook Memory] Corsair Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( Mobility 512MB NVIDIA GeForce GO 8600GT PCI-Express 3D Video )
Hard Drive ( 120 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA-150 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [Battalion 101 LX775] )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.92 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100/1000 Network LAN [Notebook] )
Mouse ( None )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in 3x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Build-in 3-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
Carrying Case ( Free Deluxe Carrying Case )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 )
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner ( None )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 1x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Video Camera ( Build-in CMOS Digital Web Video Camera 1.3Mega Pixels )
Internal Wireless Network Adapter ( [upgrade] 4965 Wireless-N WiFi Link (802.11b/g/Draft N) PCI-E Mini Card )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard One(1) Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

$1,507.00

if anyone knows a better deal, throw em at me! :)

[Cold Storm]

there you go! better then my I buy that I showed..

[Paulieg]

I'm not sure if the graphics will be good enough for you. An 8600GT is NOT very powerful.

[fraya713]

cool, i donno though, has anyone bought from ibuypower? i'm kinda scared im gonna get a lemon and be screwed lol

it has a 1 year warranty and my philosophy is that if i can't break it within a year its a pretty decent product... but still, if anyone else has bought from them or has had bad experiences, lemme know..

also i wasn't sure if there was anything new coming out that i might want to wait for.. if not i think i'll give this laptop a go!

[PVTCaboose1337]

cool, i donno though, has anyone bought from ibuypower? i'm kinda scared im gonna get a lemon and be screwed lol

it has a 1 year warranty and my philosophy is that if i can't break it within a year its a pretty decent product... but still, if anyone else has bought from them or has had bad experiences, lemme know..

also i wasn't sure if there was anything new coming out that i might want to wait for.. if not i think i'll give this laptop a go!

I would get the ASUS G1S-A1 vs. the IBuyPower. For 100$ more you get the ASUS name (and lights on the side)!

[fraya713]

also, what better laptop graphics cards are out there?

the lappy showing up there is a 8600 gt 512mb..

i've never bought a laptop before so lemme know your thoughts! thanks a lot guys for the quick responses

[PVTCaboose1337]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220182

The G1S-A2... simular specs... but the Asus name.

Lappy graphics are always bad. The best there is is the 8800m gt but that is fail. or there is an 8600m gt sli but that is fail. (both in comparison to their desktop counterparts.) The 8600m gt is the best you can get for your price point. (but still fail, my 7900gt would pwn it 100%)

[Batou1986]

you can get it from newegg for a 100 bucks cheaper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227030

my only warning about these laptops is they come with vista which really bogs them down my friend just got a similar one recently and i was more impressed with the fingerprint scanner then the performance of the computer

plus the drivers are proprietary for the 8600 meaning you get no driver updates from nvidia
which REALLY blows

and really theres only the ati 2600 or the nvida 8600

[fraya713]

this is what i was looking at on the asus side

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220255

its a bit more pricy, but i think it might be worth it...

also i made sure to get xp pro for this laptop.. its up there ^

[PVTCaboose1337]

No click here...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220182 this is cheaper, and almost as good...

[Paulieg]

Wow, just did some research. I can't find anything in the $1500 price range with more than an 8600GT

[PVTCaboose1337]

you can get it from newegg for a 100 bucks cheaper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227030

my only warning about these laptops is they come with vista which really bogs them down my friend just got a similar one recently and i was more impressed with the fingerprint scanner then the performance of the computer

plus the drivers are proprietary for the 8600 meaning you get no driver updates from nvidia
which REALLY blows

and really theres only the ati 2600 or the nvida 8600

Wow those reviews though are kinda bad... :p

[PVTCaboose1337]

Wow, just did some research. I can't find anything in the $1500 price range with more than an 8600GT

Likewise... I saw the 8800m gt... guess what... $2899 minimum with a 2.2ghz C2D.

[fraya713]

do you think the 8600GT will work for me? I just need to be able to run Maya and 3D Studio Max.

For Games ill just use my desktop, but i just get tired of going home and not being able to do anything...

[PVTCaboose1337]

I think this dude says it best about the GFX (on the Asus laptop)

"This is a $2000 machine. If you're expecting dual 256mb 8700mGT performance then you're looking for a $4000+ machine. What this machine IS, is a very solid performing gaming laptop that is in a nice price range. Don't buy a Toyota expecting a Ferrari. After all, the Toyota is very nice still."

For your pricepoint, this is the best you can expect so... do this or you can go up a price point...

[fraya713]

cool thanks a lot guys, i appreciate it

though, if any one finds anything better keep me posted :)

thanks again guys!

[PVTCaboose1337]

So which are you going for?

[Batou1986]

do you think the 8600GT will work for me? I just need to be able to run Maya and 3D Studio Max.

For Games ill just use my desktop, but i just get tired of going home and not being able to do anything...

this might be more up your alley since its got a quadro which will prob do u much better if maya and 3d studio are more important than games

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114413

[fraya713]

i still am not sure, i got do a little more research before i make my final decision, ill keep u guys posted tho

[CargoX]

I was about to say. Gaming graphics preference is much different then workstation app graphics preferences.

Keep shopping.

btw, I've also used Thinkpads.

[CargoX]

This is you.

Customize ThinkPad T61p 15 inch widescreen Mobile Workstation with discrete graphics (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/systemconfig.runtime.workflow:LoadRuntimeTree?sb=: 00000025:00000311:&smid=1F106632CBC24D2CBD23DF19644D3694)

Start page is here for Mobile Workstations (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=1F106632CBC24D2CBD23DF19644D3694)

[CargoX]

Ready to ship

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1265287

Lenovo ThinkPad T61
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2GHz, 100GB 7200RPM Hard Disk, 1GB Single SoDIMM, DVD/CD-RW Combo, XP Pro, 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050), nVidia Quadro 140M with 128MB, 802.11AGN, Bluetooth, 9-Cell Battery, 3yr Onsite Warranty, Integrated Fingerprint Reader
$1,399

Unfortunately, doesn't look like you'll get the latest Quadro without Vista and near $2,000 price tag.

Good luck.

[Solaris17]

I give it a thumbs up

+1 on that

[FatForester]

I hope I'm not too late, but I have an Inspiron 1520 as listed in my specs. Paulieg, the 8600M GT is more than enough for gaming! Yea, it's not gonna run Crysis, but no computer can at this point. All the Source games run beautifully and the only way for me to make it lag is to increase the AA to 8x - 16x. Keep in mind that Dell used the DDR2 version of the 8600M GT instead of the better GDDR3 version. I am quite pleased with my Dell, and I got it with the extra battery and all the goodies for 1,250 shipped during some promotion they had. However, my friend has a 13.3" ASUS which is quite nice. If you have any questions I can tell ya whatever you want to know about the Dell 1520 and give you some pointers with ASUS.

[Solaris17]

i have to back up the 8600GT as well but if you know me..than well its expected so

[Triprift]

Go for a hp i got a dv 9205tx and its excellent.

[fraya713]

ok, so whats so special about the quadro compared to the 8600 ?

[ChaoticBlankness]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220285

This is what I have, it's very nice.

Comes with 2 year warranty, 1 year accidental, free shipping both ways.

[Triprift]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220285

This is what I have, it's very nice.

Comes with 2 year warranty, 1 year accidental, free shipping both ways.

very nice indeed hows it go for gaming with an 8600?

[ShadowFold]

ok, so whats so special about the quadro compared to the 8600 ?

Quadro is for like 3d rendering and 8600GT is more for(dont flame lol) gaming.

[fraya713]

ok so i found this site, which seems to have better deals.. not 2 mention it has a 2-3% student discount woohoo!

this site seems more my fit

http://www.gen-x-pc.com/notebooksGenX.htm

again lemme know what ya think!